2 Years of Adventure
by foooomonkey
Summary: Kirito, upon just having entered the new death game SAO, adventures as a solo. Taking place in the two years before his meeting with Asuna, Kirito's story is one of worthy of a legend.
1. Chapter 1

Before meeting the wolves, Kirito thought he knew everything about the first floor. Guilt still plagued his heart after abandoning Klein, but he had continued to travel away from the [City of Beginnings]. Moving towards the west, Kirito had migrated to more untouched fields farther out, away from the now frequently farmed woodland to the rolling, hilly plains of the country side on the first floor. There, he had focused on nothing but grinding his dexterity stat on foxes, and his HP points of wild pigs, the equivalent of slimes. Both, unknown to the people outside of beta, were the easiest monsters to kill and yielded among the highest ratios of [EXP] and [Stat Points].

Kirito had moved on after hitting his fourth level, and acquiring his first practical sword skill, [Step-Sword]. He had already mastered it in the beta, now, executing it was a piece of cake. However, despite of his deep understanding of the game, Kirito was not ready to face the wolves, developed into something completely different from the original monsters in the beta. Their hp ratio had risen from three hundred to six hundred, and from the speed of their movement, their [dexterity] had clearly been risen at least four stats. Kirito was starting to doubt his decision of moving on.

Sure he was a beta tester, but now SAO had turned from the newest VRMMORPG into an all out death game. Just in the past two days, over four hundred players had taken the axe. Facing an unknown enemy put Kirito in a dilemma. What if he took too much damage, or was ambushed on his way back to the inn by a Beta Player Killer, or PK?

Kirito was almost sure only Beta testers had made it this far out into the first floor, and many of the beta players were not as friendly as the main group of players had hoped. Most of them, like Kirito, had decided to solo.

Wearing nothing but a long-sleeved slim shirt and the recruit-level long black pants, Kirito was clearly at a disadvantage. The wolf growled, a low hum emanating from deep in his throat, a sound guttural and menacing. Froth dropped from the corner of its mouth, and its eyes glowed a dull red, the color of dried blood. Just like in many games, emotions and expressions were enhanced in SAO, but the feeling of fear from fighting a monster was just as real as facing a real one, in the real world.

Kirito's arms shook, and he assumed a comfortable stance. _Keep your body at ease. Tensing will only paralyze you._ The wolf pounced, and Kirito's blade, the [Metal Shortsword], deftly flew upwards to ward off the incoming attack. Rolling backwards, Kirito braced his back against the ground and kicked upwards, landing a clean strike on the wolves body, propelling it over his head and through the air, before it landed with a loud whine on the ground.

Suddenly, Kirito's body went cold. His forehead was wet and clammy, and his hands shivered in cold sweat. He wished for his old gear, the old familiar sword skills that he alone had mastered. The power of his [Dark Claymor] that had brought him farther than anyone else, all the way to the eighth floor. When his character had been reset after the Beta, Kirito felt like he had lost a big part of his life in SAO.

Before him, the wolf looked different than before. It's eyes were no longer a dull red, but a bright red, glowing, menacing. And, as though human, the wolf's mouth was curled upwards, as if in sight of a clear victory, just like a humans. It barked, as if telling Kirito, "You're fresh meat now."

Suddenly, the wolf's fangs glowed the same red as its eyes, and it opened its mouth up wide. Shifting its stance, and lowering its head, the wolf seemed like a cat.

_That's exactly what it is. A monster with the power of a wolf, but the nimbleness and agility of a cat, _Kirito thought.

In desperation, Kirito threw his sword arm back, as if charging up some special attack. At this, the wolf's eyes only widened, its smirk extending all the way to its ears, a disgusting, almost other worldly expression. Kirito realized his mistake. He had been charging up for [Horizontal Square], a sword skill not achieved until the late twenties, a bad habit of his from the Beta. Stumbling backwards, Kirito was wide open for attack.

The wolf leapt, clearly knocking Kirito to the ground, chomping at his shoulder. His shoulder was torn up, the wolf ripping out shreds of his flesh before jumping away, assuming the same stance. Kirito screamed with pain. His shoulder was punctured, and gleamed a red, laced with a gridded pattern, showing the data he was made of. Kirito glanced at his HP bar. Only 1/2 left.

Dragging himself up from the floor, Kirito jumped away, his left arm limp from his injury. Drawing arm back behind his head, sword still pointed forwards, Kirito looked as if he were poised to stab forwards. His arm, tight like a bow, slowly was building up energy, and the system, sensing an initiation sequence, began to surround his [Metal Shortsword] with a blue glow.

The air crackled with tension, and both Kirito and the wolf, despite being an AI, could feel it. At the apex of the tense atmosphere, the wolf pounced, and Kirito stepped forward in one fluid motion.

Kirito's black boot hit the ground with amazing force summoned up a mini-shockwave, and dust flew up around him. In a flash of blue, so fast it left an after image,Kirito had passed the wolf and ended his attack, frozen in the final motion of the sword skill. His arm was fully extended, left hand holding his elbow as if to provide support. Behind, the wolf was levitated awkwardly in mid-air, before exploding into a million crystalline pieces.

Under his breath, Kirito whispered, "Step-sword."


	2. Bell

Kirito sighed, and dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Relishing the late afternoon breeze, he stared across the water, which shimmered beneath the setting sun like a school of silver fish. His breathing began to slow, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see his HP bar, quivering just above the red zone.

After another long day of grinding, Kirito had slowly accumulated more and more exp. Now, he was already level seven, as opposed to his measly level four earlier in the day. He continued to watch the sun set, both content in mind in body. It had been a while since Kirito had been strained like he was today.

As the sun slowly set, Kirito decided to name this hill top his. "I claim this hill top property of Kirito! Black Knight!" He shouted into the sky. Around him the grass danced in the breeze, and the clouds drifted by overhead, giving no reply to his odd declaration. The entire world was bathed in a deep red-orange, and Kirito sighed, closing his eyes.

He kept his eyes closed even as he felt a figure sit down next to him, nearly inaudible behind the relieving noises of the countryside. "You sure look relaxed."

Kirito opened his eyes. Next to him sat a girl, with shoulder length chestnut hair, a sprig of it framing her face, tied up with a red ribbon. Her eyes glinted in the light of the us dipping below the horizon, a deep brown, reminding Kirito of his favorite Hershey's milk chocolate. A healthy shade of creamy white, the girl's skin was on fire from the orange paint that seemed to bathe the world. The shape of her body seemed to have been drawn by a master artist, elegant strokes of a skillful hand. Beneath her slender neck was a white cloak draped across delicate shoulders, hiding much of her outfit. A grass-green and white dress poked through the folds of her cloak. The cuffs of her sleeves were laced with gold lining, and her fingers were long and slender. An object poked out from beneath her cloak, what Kirito easily assumed was the hilt of her sword. For just a moment, the girl looked like a fearsome, yet elegant fairy that had fallen from the sky.

"Ah! My bad, I'm always so bad mannered. The name is Isabel, but most of my friends just call me Bell!"

Without shifting his body, Kirito replied, "Nice to meet you Isabel-san. I'm Kirito, pleased to be of your acquaintance. What brings you out here?"

"Oh please. Just call me Bell. I was out here to grind. Isn't that exactly what you were doing?"

Kirito shrugged. "Most new players don't venture out too far, but I'm sure you weren't a beta-tester. For you to be this far out means you are either an extremely obliviously lost newbie, or an experience MMORPG player."

"Mmm. And which do you think I am?"

Once again staring at the water, Kirito pondered it for a moment. "The latter."

"Haha. Looks like you do have some brains after all."

For a while they both lay rested in comfortable silence, staring at the sky, watching as the canvas of the countryside painted itself darker and darker, until eventually, the setting sun disappeared beneath the horizon, resting in order to appear the next day. Kirito sighed, and pushed himself up from the ground, palm disappearing beneath the tallish grass. Not a moment later Bell joined him.

"Let's head back now."

Kirito nodded.

They began a leisurely pace back towards town, unfazed by the rapidly approaching darkness. Kirito absentmindedly kept his hand gripped on his sword, an incredibly natural and comfortable posture for him.

"You're really used to this world aren't you, Kirito-kun?"

"…" Kirito faltered. Most players had already begun to realize how the Beta testers had forsaken the rest of the gamers, and leveled as fast as possible. This gap was seen as a display of pride, arrogance. Unsure of how Bell would react, Kirito lied.

"I'm really familiar with MMORPG, and a virtual one is basically the same thing, just personal skill is actually involved."

"Ah. I understand, I'm the same."

They walked in a comfortable silence, enjoying the company of each other. Slowly, the twinkling lights of the town came into view as they crossed over the top of a hill.

"Wha! Kirito-kun, look at all the lights!"

Below them, the street lights of the small town were just beginning to light up, illuminating the humble redbrick houses in a warm, yellow light. The streets were mostly empty, except in the case of an occasional NPC or one of the few Beta players in the game. The trees in the city slowly swayed with the light breeze, and small clouds of smoke rose into the air from the numerous smokestacks that reached towards the evening sky. All in all, the town looked welcoming.

"Kirito, let's-"

Bell was interrupted by the sound of unsheathing blades. From the surrounding darkness three figures walked forward, black as night, moving fluidly. Shrouded by the darkness, no features could be made out, however, in each of their hands glinted a short curved sword.

"Shit. We're not near enough to the town, this isn't a safe zone yet. We're going to have to fight."

Bell nodded in agreement.

Both unsheathing their swords, the two new companions instinctively backed up into each other. The three bandits circled around them, fading in and out of sight as they blended in with the shadows. No side was willing to make a move, the bandits dancing in and out of reach, as if enticing the victim pair to join them in a deadly waltz.

Suddenly, in a change of pace the three bandits launched themselves forward slashing down with their curved short swords glinting in the dim moonlight. Kirito, with lightning fast reaction, knocked one away with the edge of his own [Metal Shortsword]. Reacting similarly, Bell dodged on slash, barely avoiding the razor sharp edge of the bandit's weapons. Caught out of place, another bandit took advantage of Bell's situation and lashed quickly, the sword cleanly connecting with Bell's shoulder. Crying out in pain, Bell stumbled forwards, shoulder glowing red with the red framework of her digital body. The slight glow from her wound illuminated the bottom of the bandits' faces, revealing cold hearted, sly smiles.

Placing himself in between the bandits' and his felled companion, Kirito lowered his stance, becoming more defensive rather than offensive. Right now, survival was crucial.

All three of the bandits now came forward at once, and Kirito ducked and weaved through a storm of blows. Blocking and dodging, weaving and counterattacking. To Kirito, actions now were purely instinctive, no more thought nor hesitation was allowed.

To Bell, who quivered on the floor it seemed Kirito would be able to hold them off long enough for her to grab hold of wits, but slowly Kirito's HP bar began to chip away, slowly quivering towards the red area. Already injured from a long day of grinding, the exhausted swordsman wasn't going to last much longer.

Kirito's HP was now dangerously low. The cackling of the bandits grew louder and louder, as if they sensed the doom of the two suffering players. Their blows grew faster, stronger, desperate to see the end of their adversaries.

In the town, the other players were oblivious to the impending slaughter just minutes away.


	3. En Garde!

"Grah!"

"Kekekekekeke!"

The Bandits' laugh sounded in a disgusting harmony, sadistic and cold-hearted. They continued to batter away at Kirito with a flurry of underhanded strikes, taking advantage of Bell's predicament. Around them, the trees ruffled and, underneath he dim moonlight, seemed to glow a deep purple. Despite the lights and homely houses, the twinkling of the town below didn't seem so welcoming anymore, rather, it was almost mocking. "Come on, Kirito. I'm so close. Safety so close. Why the desperate struggling? Aren't you the all powerful Beta Tester?"

On the ground, Bell grimaced as she heard Kirito's cries of agony. _Doing so much to protect me, someone he just met. Why?_ She clenched her fist, ignoring the pain of the sharp pebbles digging into her unprotected palms. Her sword, long an pointer, a sabre, was at the tip of her fingers. Gripping it as tightly as she could, Bell clenched her teeth and jumped up in a flurry of sudden energy. In the spur of the moment, he sabre began to glow a dull gold.

Surprised by her sudden change of attitude, the bandits faltered in their attack. Kirito glanced at her between half-lidded eyes, hidden behind a curtain of messy locks drenched with sweat. His body was riddled with shallow, short cuts, everywhere, so much he seemed almost like a glowing mosaic of red data. Above him, his life bar was dangerously red, betraying his injured state.

"Bell-"

"Shhh. Kirito, leave it to me."

"No! I can still fight!"

Wordlessly, Bell pushed him lightly to the ground. She mouthed lightly, _Thank you._

As if a single entity, the three bandits cackled, in the same eerie harmony, "Enjoying a final farewell? Haha! It's your turn little girl!"

"As if! Passive Ability, Activate! [En Garde]!"

The dull glow from Bell's sword crescendoed into a full out light, almost as if it were a mini-sun. A breeze lifted her cloak, billowing her hair and her white cloak outwards. Brown eyes reflected the light, and Bell's chocolate orbs seemed darker than ever. Her sabre illuminating the ground around her, she looked like a warrior angel, a valkyrie even.

Unfazed by the sudden change in appearance, the bandits launched themselves forward, wordless. The fastest Bandit struck from behind, and for a moment Bell seemed like she would react to late. Spinning around at an incredible speed, her sabre bent out of shape, curving around like a distorted sun beam.

"Parry!" She cleanly knocked away the curved sword, flicking her wrist up, before swing it backwards, around her shoulder, flinging it forwards again. "Riposte!" A clean hit, the tip of the sabre sinking into the bandit's flesh, drawing a deep howl.

Quickly pulling it out, Bell flung herself around, knocking away oncoming attacks, and reposting in the minute gap in attacks her parries offered her. "Parry! Riposte! Parry! Riposte!"

On the ground, Kirito watched in awe.Was there really a passive ability at such a low level, capable of impenetrable defense and unblock able offense?

Repeatedly, in a series of spins, dashed, slashing, stabbing and "riposte"ing, the bandits' HP began to fall. However, the fight wasn't completely in Bell's favor. Slowly, but surely, her won HP was being chipped away. As fatigue, on of the biggest needs of players in SAO set in, her movements began to dull, her forehead drenched with sweat. Her back, shoulders and arms was a patchwork of interlacing lacerations where she had reacted half a moment to slow, are a miss timed riposted earned her a shallow clip of a blade. Kirito continued to watch in a daze, but before long, he began to realize things weren't going as great as he thought.

Standing up, Kirito quickly backed away into the darkness, his green shirt and black pants blending in perfectly with the organic colors of the night country side. The bandits were no longer cackling, but Bell's blade clearly wasn't shining as bright as before. Kirito had to do something.

Shifting himself into the familiar stance with his hand drawn behind his head, Kirito extended his left arm forward, pointing towards the flurry of blades that was Bell's desperate battle. As if to aim, he threw out on finger, following the movement of a single bandit. _I have to time this perfectly. Too fast or too slow, and I'll hit Bell. If I miss, I'll be exterminated quickly in three short hits. I have to make this perfect._

The system, sensing an initiation sequence, surrounded his simple [Metal Shortsword] with a blue glow, dull and dim. Unnoticed by the bandits, Kirito continued to save up energy, following the swift movements of one bandit.

"Parry!" As the bandit stumbled backwards, his comrades filled in the gap, leaving no space for a Riposte. However, Kirito took this moment to dash in from behind. A small shockwave flew outwards from his black boot, kicking up stray leaves and grass into the air, making almost a mini storm of leaves.

The bandit turned his head towards the source of the wind, only saw a glowing mass of rippling leaves. Suddenly, ripping apart the psuedo-camouflage, Kirito dashed forward arm snapping forward like the drawstring of a bow. Still halfway from recovering, the Bandit opened his mouth wide, but before he could even yell, Kirito was already behind him. A long slash starting from the tip of his shoulder extended across the bandit's entire face, leaving behind a long streak of red date. Hovering awkwardly in midair, the bandit exploded into a million pieces, showering Kirito in a rain of beautiful, elegant shards of death.

The two remaining bandits whirled around, bearing down upon Kirito. Knocking one sword aside, and desperately launching himself backwards, Kirito crashed to the floor, unhurt but now completely vulnerable. Before any of the bandits could do anything, Bell's sabre flew threw the air, lashing a clean horizontal strike, killing two birds with a single stone.

Kirito was on the ground, pale faced and frightened to death. He had come inches with death's doors, and twice tonight, he had escaped barely alive. Bracing his arm against his knee, Kirito forced himself to a standing position, clumsily sheathing his sword.

"Thanks Bell."

When she didn't reply, Kirito became worried. "Bell?"

Legs splayed outwards on the floor, Bell's body was wracked in silent tears. Silver orbs traveled down her face, wetting the dirt road beneath her.

"Kirito-kun… Those were real people! We just murdered three people…"

Kirito didn't know what to say. In this world, death didn't mean respawn, or a loss of stats. In this world, it meant leaving and traveling on. Death, eternal rest, whatever you wanted to call it. It wasn't only a game anymore; SAO had become a mass population Hunger Games.

Kneeling awkwardly at her side, Kirito draped an arm over her. Turning, Bell cried into his shoulder, her sobs violently wracking her body. Together, they stayed there until Bell fell asleep, now peaceful, no longer tormented by her actions of the night. Kirito smiled, and picked her up onto his back. Exhausted and sleepy, he carried her back to the small town at the bottom of the hill, which had once again reverted to its welcoming self, readily welcoming the two battered adventures with a warm fire and soft beds.


End file.
